


These Three Words

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s04e13 The Long Goodbye, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-02
Updated: 2006-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-15 20:09:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14797122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Funny, he couldn't quite pinpoint the moment he started referring to CJ's apartment as home, but all his clothing and other necessary  personal items had long since made the journey from his hotel suite to her apartment.





	These Three Words

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**These Three Words**

**by:** Gillian 

**Character(s):** Leo,CJ  
**Pairing(s):** Leo/CJ  
**Category(s):** Post-Ep, Romance  
**Rating:** ADULT  
**Summary:** Funny, he couldn't quite pinpoint the moment he started referring to CJ's apartment as home, but all his clothing and other necessary personal items had long since made the journey from his hotel suite to her apartment.  
**Spoiler:** "The Long Goodbye"  
**Written:** 2006-04-01  
**Author's Note:** Number six in the **Push** series. In "The Long Goodbye", CJ tells her father that it's February, so in my universe, that episode comes after Bartlet's Second Inauguration. 

Leo sat back in his office chair and sighed. The tension in his neck and shoulders indicated he was more than ready for Marine One to lift off, taking the First Couple to Camp David for the weekend. The casualties at Red Haven weighed heavily on the President and Leo hoped this brief respite from the White House would help his spirits. Leo held no such hope for himself. CJ was flying to Dayton tonight to give a speech at her high school reunion. He sighed, remembering their argument from the night before. 

He arrived home from work earlier than usual for a Thursday evening. Funny, he couldn't quite pinpoint the moment he started referring to CJ's apartment as home, but all his clothing and other necessary personal items had long since made the journey from his hotel suite to her apartment. He never imagined that after just three months of sharing a bed, his life would become so entwined with hers. 

So, he got home last night before CJ and he flipped on CNN in the kitchen, settling on chicken fajitas for dinner. By the time she walked in the door, he was standing barefooted in suit pants and a t-shirt placing garnish on the finished meal. 

He supposed they started off on the wrong foot when she expressed surprise at the domestic scene before her and he got defensive. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" he had said. "Is it a crime to do something nice for you?" 

The past week had been long between the nearly disastrous California trip, the hostages in Khundu and the resulting casualties at the training base. Everyone in the West Wing was on edge and short with one another. It was only a matter of time before Leo and CJ started snapping at each other at home, too. 

They ended up eating their meal in relative silence until Leo apologized for his earlier comments and CJ told him how delicious the meal tasted. 

"Are you gonna be alright going home by yourself this weekend?" he had asked as they cleared the table. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" she replied. 

"I just worry about you visiting your father alone. I know it won't be easy to see him." 

"I'll be fine." She waved her hand dismissively, as if to end the conversation. 

"Dammit, CJ, no you won't. Why won't you let me in to help you face this?!" 

"Because it's something I have to deal with myself. You can't hold my hand and make it better." She spun on her heel and walked toward the bedroom. 

"Oh for Christ's sake, I love you. If I can't help you, who the hell can?" Leo took a sharp breath, realizing what he had just said. 

She turned to face him, tears in her eyes. "I don't know. I need to get some sleep; I'll see you at the office in the morning. Thank you for dinner." 

After she practically slammed the bedroom door in his face, he didn't know what to do. He had just told her that he loved her for the very first time, in the middle of an argument. He knew he should head back to his hotel, but the suite would be infinitely emptier than CJ's living room, so he lay down on the couch and set the alarm on his cell phone for 4 am. 

This morning, he left the apartment before she awoke and he hadn't seen her all day except in senior staff. Even then, she was the first person out the door when he dismissed them. And now she was on a plane to Dayton to visit her ailing father and give a speech that she hadn't yet written. 

********** 

The ringing of his cell phone jostled Leo from a light doze a little after one am. He reached for it on the nightstand, answering without looking at the caller id. 

"McGarry." 

"Hi, did I wake you?" 

The sound of CJ's voice made him smile. "Not exactly." 

"Where are you?" 

"At your place. I hope you don't mind after last night, but..." 

"No," she interrupted. "It's fine. I'm really sorry about last night, Leo. You were right to be worried. Seeing him..." she choked. 

"CJ?" he tried to sound soothing. 

"I wish you were here to help me," she whispered. "I do need you." 

"I'll be on the first flight to Dayton in the morning." 

"Thank you. I'll say the other thing when I see you in person." 

He laughed softly. "Try to get some sleep, Claudia Jean." 

********** 

CJ stood waiting for him when he disembarked the plane. Unfortunately, due to the situation in Khundu, two Secret Service agents flanked him. 

"Somehow, they blend in better at home," he said by way of greeting. "I assured Ron that Ohio posed no imminent threat, but he insisted." 

She gave him a 'what can you do' shrug and said hello to Agents Thompson and Jenkins, tossing her car keys to Jenkins. He would want to drive her car. There was protocol to follow, after all. 

Leo loaded his bags into Tal's Volvo and proceeded to climb in the backseat with CJ. Jenkins actually knew the way to the Cregg home, which sort of freaked CJ out, but then again, the Secret Service rarely left a stone unturned. The twenty minute drive passed silently, but Leo held CJ's hand. 

"If you guys could hang out here a minute," CJ said when Jenkins pulled into the driveway. "Let me warn my dad that we have company." 

She walked up to the house and let herself in. "Daddy?" she called. "My friends from Washington are here." 

Tal came down the stairs. "Well don't just stand there sweetheart. Invite them in." He opened the front door and waved to his guests. 

Leo ascended the porch stairs with the agents in tow. He held out his hand to Tal. "I'm Leo McGarry and these are my agents, Jenkins and Thompson. We're very sorry to intrude and will be happy to get a hotel if you don't want the extra company." 

"Nonsense," Tal said, shaking Leo's hand, "Any friend of Claudia's is welcome here. Did you come all this way just to hear my little girl give a speech about 'The Promise of a Generation'?" 

Leo smiled and nodded. That was not his purpose here, but it would do as an explanation for CJ's father. "Yes sir." 

"Call me Tal." 

********** 

Half an hour later, CJ sat on the bed in the guest room while Leo unpacked his things. Tal puttered in the garage, gathering fishing equipment, so CJ figured she had a little time. 

"His wife has left, he's smoking again, and I'm afraid he's going to burn the house down. He refuses to go to the doctor and he's harder to handle than Abbey on one of her rampages. I want to respect his wishes, but it's almost reached the point that he shouldn't be left alone." CJ looked up at Leo with tears in her eyes. 

Leo stopped what he was doing and gathered her into his arms. He kissed her forehead and gently wiped the tear tracks on her face with his thumbs. "We'll figure it out. Why don't you try to rest now? Just lay down for a few minutes." He pulled the covers down and removed her shoes. 

She slid in between the sheets and he stroked her hair. "I love you, Leo." 

His grin lit up the room. "I love you, Claudia Jean. Sleep now." 

"Okay," she mumbled. She could sleep now that he was here. Leo wouldn't let anything happen to her father. 

********** 

"Claudia?" Tal muttered. "Where are you?" He opened the door to the guest room and saw the White House Chief of Staff watching over his sleeping daughter. 

"How long have you been with her?" he asked the younger man. 

Leo looked up, startled by the interruption. He stood and motioned for them to step out into the hall. Once there, he answered Tal's question. "Since Election day. We've been friends for five years. She was the only one that could make me laugh on the campaign trail. After a while, it seemed to be a game with her." He smiled at the memory. "Sir, I love her. And for some reason completely beyond my comprehension, she loves me too." 

"There's no predicting my Claudia. But I'm confident she wouldn't put up with you if she didn't see a good reason." Tal led the way to a sitting area. 

He motioned for Leo to sit and the younger man did so. Tal's pacing rattled the normally unflappable politician. It had been quite a few years since Leo McGarry had to meet a girl's father. He knew he wasn't good enough for CJ, but he didn't see the necessity of that fact being pointed out to him. 

"How old are you, Mr. McGarry?" Tal certainly didn't beat around the bush. 

"Fifty-six," Leo answered. 

"And you have a substance abuse problem?" 

"I've been clean and sober for nearly nine years." 

"I don't like politicians. What's to keep you from lying to Claudia and hurting her?" 

Leo shrugged as respectfully as he could. "I can guarantee you that I will hurt her. Sir, she can hold her own. But you have my word as a man and a father myself that I will do my best to hurt her as little as possible. And there are five guys back in DC, including the President of the United States that will make sure she's taken care of. None of them would give a moment's thought to taking me down if I did anything to CJ." 

Tal seemed satisfied by Leo's response, or at least enough for now. "Say, why do you have those extra men in suits sitting outside?" 

"Due to the conflict in Khundu, my Secret Service detail doubled. I usually have agents at special events and in my home, but I can move about without any guys flanking me. But military action warrants increased security for the Chief of Staff." Leo motioned back to the guest room. "You want me to wake her up so you can take her fishing?" 

"No, let her sleep. I'll be downstairs." Tal turned and walked away. 

Leo returned to the bedroom and settled into the chair next to the bed. 

"Hey," CJ said. 

"Hey," Leo whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you up." 

"You didn't." She got out of bed and walked to the door. Turning to Leo, she quirked an eyebrow and wiggled her finger at him. He got her message and followed her across the hall. 

She guided him into what he assumed was her childhood bedroom, decorated exactly as it had been when she left for college, complete with faded Blondie and Duran Duran posters. The only window in the room had a desk placed in front of it and a double bed was shoved into the far corner with pillows covering it. 

"Let me guess," Leo said with a grin, "You used the desk to climb out the window and shimmy down the drain pipe." 

"I was the typical wild child," CJ admitted. "If you searched hard enough, you could probably still find a joint in the back of my closet." She pointed to the bed. "I lost my virginity to Brad Johnson right over there. Dad was staying at school late for parent teacher conferences and my brothers were down at the Dairy Freeze. He was a senior and I was enamored. At 16, I never imagined someday I'd be working in the White House and in love with the second most powerful man in the free world." 

The combination of imagining CJ at sixteen shimmying down a pole and the prospect of making love to her in the bed where she lost her virginity had a powerful influence over Leo. Even the somewhat disturbing thought that he was 34 at the time and his previous conversation with her father did not dissuade his arousal. When CJ started stripping off her clothes, he stopped thinking all together. 

"You are so fucking sexy," Leo growled. "Brad Johnson was a lucky kid." 

"Not so much," she laughed. "It was awkward and not very good. He didn't know what he was doing. What about you? What was your first time like?" 

"CJ…" he blushed. He didn't like to talk about this kind of stuff. He'd much rather make love to the beautiful woman in front of him. 

She pulled the pillows off the bed and tossed them on the floor. Sauntering over to him, she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. She decided to let him off the hook this time. He obviously didn't want to talk about his early experiences; that was fine with her, she had fantasies she wanted to fulfill. 

"Did you know…" she said, trailing a finger across her breast and down to her navel, "that I learned how to pleasure myself in this room?" 

His eyes widened slightly at the thought. 

"Show me." 

She grinned and pinched her nipples. 

"You want to watch?" 

"Oh God yes. Please touch yourself, Claudia Jean." 

She reclined on the bed and spread her legs apart. She would give him the condensed version… CJ could go on for an hour or so pleasuring herself with the proper inspiration. With practiced fingers, she stroked her clit folds, moaning softly. 

He just stood there, his feet stuck to the ground. Could this really be happening? Sweet God in heaven. 

"Baby, tell me how it feels." 

"So good, how you doing over there Leopold?" 

"Oh God, I am aching." 

"You want to know what I'm thinking about?" 

"Are you kidding me?" 

Loving her for trusting him with this amazing sight, he moved to lie next to her on the bed. 

"Mmm…" She circled her clit as she inserted one and then two fingers. "You, always you. Over me, touching me, sucking me…" 

"Claudia Jean." 

CJ moaned loudly, arching her back. Leo clenched his fists and fought the urge to fuck her brains out. 

"Leo!" 

Leo silently watched her muscles spasm and quake around her fingers as she threw her head back. She let out another tiny sigh and rolled toward him. He grabbed her damp fingers and pulled them into his mouth. Unable to contain her gasp, she felt another flood of warmth pool in her center. 

"You taste so good," he muttered, licking her fingers clean. "How do you always taste so good?" 

She shrugged, momentarily unable to speak. 

He kissed the inside of her elbow; sure that Brad Johnson did not know that her skin was extremely sensitive there. She trembled at his touch and he moved up to caress her shoulder and collarbone with his lips. Slowly and deliberately, he made love to her breasts with his mouth, preparing her for the main event. After her rather stunning display earlier, he was ready to explode right now, but he wanted to make sure it was good for her, too. 

Leo slid his slacks off, moving over her. CJ reached up to stroke his face, telling him she loved him as he kissed the palm of her hand. He entered her in one stroke and they both gasped at the contact. Her fingers were fine in some cases, but his cock filled her completely and she loved the feel of him moving inside her. 

"Oh God," she whimpered, grabbing his hips to control the flow of his sex. 

"Baby, oh Claudia Jean, I love fucking you." 

"Fuck me harder! Oh good God!" 

She was so loud, there was no way in hell that her father could not hear her if he was back in the house. Thoughts of him bursting into the room and seeing a man twenty years her senior riding her like Secretariat interrupted her thought pattern. It was all shot to hell though when Leo hit the right spot. 

"There it is," he said, thrusting deeper. 

Lifting her legs to get better access, Leo pounded into her. CJ's entire body shuddered, still sensitive from coming just moments before. His hands cupped her backside as if he could embed himself deeper, deeper than he had ever gone before. He wanted her to taste him. His balls slapped her ass with each forward movement. 

"Oh God, Leo, just keep doing that." 

Nothing sounded sweeter to him than her voice, desperately crying out for more. All the things he had done in his life, fighting a war, getting a good man elected President, paled in comparison to loving this amazing woman. He wanted to make sure she knew what a difference she had made in his life. He wanted to make sure she knew it was about so much more than sex, though this was the best way to express what words never could. 

Without warning, CJ shifted her hips to meet his and he gained that centimeter of ground he had been hoping for. As he felt his balls tighten, he reached down to lightly caress her clit with his thumb. Her back arched even more at his touch. 

"Don't stop!" she squealed. 

"CJ…" he grunted. "Oh…fuck…yes." He exploded inside her, but plunged into her twice more before she came at his heels. 

Leo's chest heaved as he rolled over onto his back. "I hope I didn't disappoint your girlhood expectations." 

CJ snorted. "Hardly. You never cease to amaze me, don't you know that?" She rolled into his arms, cuddling close to him. "You don't know that, do you? God, you're amazing." 

He took a deep breath. "In high school, I worked at the corner grocery after school so I could get enough food for my mother and sisters to eat dinner. I studied hard so I could go to college. Between school and work, I didn't have much of a social life." 

CJ wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "Imagine that. Leo McGarry, a workaholic with no social life," she said jokingly, attempting to add levity to the moment. 

He smiled and kissed her. "So when I turned 18, my best friend's older sister asked me to accompany her to a sorority party. Turns out, Henry paid her to seduce me so I wouldn't go to college without any experience with women. Carolyn was sweet about it, but I wasn't really interesting to her. When I got to Michigan, there were plenty of opportunities to widen my experience, but probably the less said about that the better." 

She giggled. "Probably." 

********** 

CJ spent most of the afternoon with her father which resulted in a heartbreaking and somewhat disastrous trip to a neurologist. Tal was understandably frightened by the diagnosis and took his anger out on his daughter. Leo called in some favors from a friend at Health and Human Services to figure out the best facilities both in Dayton and DC so the Cregg family could discuss options. 

While she was getting ready to go to the reunion, Leo sat in the living room with Tal. 

"I know I have fewer and fewer good days ahead," Tal said. "But I don't want to be a burden to my family." 

Leo nodded knowingly. "You don't want your children to feel like they need to care for you. After my divorce, my daughter was set on helping me move on with my life. I love Mallory with my whole heart, but some things a man has to do for himself." 

"Exactly." 

The men sat in silence for a minute before Tal spoke again. 

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret telling you this, but I like you, McGarry. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. And that's saying quite a bit for a career politician." 

Leo smiled. "Thank you sir. CJ will be relieved that I meet your approval." 

Tal simply shook his head once and he wandered out of the room. 

Leo supposed there was at least one advantage to your father blowing his brains out in the prime of his life... He never had to consider questions of his sanity. Leo knew from an early age that his father was a raging drunk and no one questioned or contradicted the fact. 

Pride swelled in his chest every time he saw CJ's heart crack a little more at her father's deterioration and she remained standing, taking it like the amazingly strong woman he knew her to be. 

He watched with sheer admiration as she gave a speech not forty-five minutes after Tal failed to recognize a picture from her childhood. Just as she led up to the topic of her discourse, Leo's phone buzzed. He had issued a general 'do not disturb unless something blows up' warning to everyone in the West Wing before leaving, so he knew it was an emergency. After getting off the phone he flagged CJ in the middle of her speech, letting her know that they had to return to the West Wing. 

On the flight to DC, they both tucked their personal lives back into the recesses of their psyches. It was time to work. Some day, their ability to separate business and pleasure might not be as fluid a transition, but today, right now, they both welcomed the distraction from the painful decisions facing CJ in the immediate future. 


End file.
